Betrayal
by SomethingOrOther114
Summary: The Liars find out that Ezra is A. Can the girls help Aria get over this massive betrayal? Based on the latest Halloween episode and cast and crew tweets. Includes most main characters and Sparia friendship.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Just trying to pass the time until PLL comes back next year. Call it PLL-withdrawal if you will. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Feel free to post reviews. I don't own anything. _

**Chapter 1**

It can't be true. He can't be A. It just wasn't possible. And yet, as much as I tried to convince myself of that, deep down in my heart I knew that it was the truth. All the pieces fit; we were all just too blind to see it.

Ezra was A. It had been he who had tormented us, who tried to hurt us and everybody we cared about. It was Ezra who had made our lives a living hell these past two years. Hanna had tried to tell me. She suspected him, but I didn't listen. I didn't want to. I didn't want to believe it was Ezra. Emily didn't either. We both scoffed at the idea. He was Aria's soul mate; he would never have done anything to hurt her. I grimace, thinking back to our secret meeting before school not two days ago.

_"I'm telling you there's something going on with Ezra."_

_"Hanna, I'm sure it's nothing. Ezra was probably just trying to get a cup of coffee before school and Mona cornered him. Who knows, she's trying to be innocuous, maybe she really was just talking about school. If it was something else, Ezra knows what she's capable of. He knows she'll try to worm herself into every apple she can find," I reply, rolling my eyes, not putting it past Mona to try something just as Aria and Ezra had gotten back together._

_"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm telling you, something's up with Ezra. Don't you find it strange that he kept his hand in his pocket the whole time while driving us back to Rosewood, and then when he gave Aria back her phone?_

_"It was a cold night," said Emily, uncertainly. She didn't want to believe there was anything wrong with Ezra any more than I did; especially now that Aria had just broken things off with Jake to get back with him._

_"Em, there was a thick bandage around his hand." Hanna turned to face me. "Didn't you say you cut A's hand with some gardening shears in Ravenswood?"_

_"Yeah, I mean I know I got his hand, but he was wearing gloves. I don't know if I actually managed to cut him or not, things got a little fuzzy after I hit my head," I say._

_"Guys," Emily cuts off Hanna's retort. We both turn to look at her. Ezra was walking towards us, hands in his pockets._

_"Hey Mr Fitz," we all say in greeting._

_"Girls," he nods, before smiling at someone behind us. I turn around to see Aria shooting him a smile as he walks past._

_"Hey," Aria greets us, a small smile still etched on her face. "What's going on?"_

_"Uh nothing, just getting ready for class," says Emily while I look pointedly at Hanna. She gives a subtle nod, but I knew that she wasn't going to let it go so easily._

"I hope Aria's okay," says Emily, sitting next to me in the passenger seat, breaking me out of my reverie. I just nod, not trusting myself to speak right now as worry courses through me. Hanna, Emily and I had just received an SOS message from Aria. She was at Ezra's, the two of them having planned a movie night while Emily and I were at my place doing some homework. Hanna had been at home, talking on the phone with Caleb. Neither of us had been able to get into contact with Aria after her text. We were all praying that she was alright as we sped towards Ezra's apartment, ignoring all speed limits.

Five minutes later Emily and I arrive outside Ezra's. Hanna was just getting out if her car ahead of us.

"Anything?" She asks as we reach her.

"Nothing since the SOS," Emily replies.

"C'mon, let's go," I say and together we rush towards the stairs. There's no sound to be heard as we approach Ezra's door. When we're close enough, I see that the door is hanging slightly ajar. Behind that small opening, what little I can see of his apartment seems trashed. I look at the other two, their mirrored expressions of horror telling me that they'd seen it too. We barge into the room.

"Aria?" Emily calls out.

"Guys." We all turn toward the small voice coming from the far corner of the room. Aria's small frame sits hunched on the ground, tears streaming down her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Aria," I whisper, as we rush towards her. My heart breaks as I see Aria trying to contain her tears. She looks so fragile, her small arms wrapped around her knees as she rocks back and forth. It reminds me of my own breakdown when I found out that Toby had joined the A team. I shake my head. I don't have time to reminisce right now, Aria needs me. She needs us. Emily reaches her first and wraps her arms around Aria. Hanna and I do the same. She's sobbing uncontrollably now, her brief moment of control gone.

"It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay." Even as I say the words, I know they're a lie. They're feeble words of comfort, but what more can I say? Hanna and Emily spare me a brief glance before returning their attention back to Aria. We continue to hold her, none of us saying anything. Aria's cries are the only sound in the dark apartment. I feel so helpless. I silently curse Ezra; I swear he's going to pay for this.

* * *

It's past midnight. The four of us are at my house, since my parents are both out of town for the week. We'd managed to coax Aria to come with us back to my place. We still don't know what went on between her and Ezra; she's barely spoken a word since we'd found her. Every once in a while fresh tears fill her eyes before making their way down her face. She won't look any of us in the eye, and rebuffs any attempt at conversation. Hanna and Emily insisted on staying the night, and have already settled in my room. None of us want to leave Aria alone tonight.

* * *

The sun shines through a crack in the curtain, waking me up. The others are still asleep. I look around at Aria. It took her about an hour to drift off last night. She's sleeping peacefully now, although we all heard her waking up in the early hours of the morning. It took us a while for us to calm her down again and get her to go back to sleep. I decide to go downstairs to make breakfast. About ten minutes later, I hear someone walking down the steps. I look up from making eggs, expecting to see Hanna or Emily, but it's Aria. She looks a little worse for wear; there are bags under her bloodshot eyes and her hair is messy from sleep and the events of the previous day.

"Hey." I say tentatively.

"Hey," she replies in a quiet voice, looking anywhere but at me as she walks into the kitchen. She avoids my eyes as she slides into a chair, instead focussing on her hands which she's placed on the table top.

"Do you want some breakfast?" I ask, deciding that it was better to get some food into her before asking any questions.

"Sure," she says unenthusiastically, still playing with her hands. I slide a plate of eggs and toast before her, as well as a cup of coffee. She doesn't eat anything but instead just pushes the food around on the plate. I can't stand it anymore; I can't stand seeing Aria so broken. I need to do something, anything.

"Aria," I begin, but she cuts me off.

"How did you do it?" Aria asks quietly, meeting my eyes for the first time. I look at her questioningly, even though I know exactly what she's asking. "How do you get past the pain?" Every moment I can feel it eating away at me." She looks down at the table, unable to meet my eyes as tears begin to fill her own. The pain in her eyes is so palpable I can feel my heart breaking. I open my mouth to respond, but am spared having to answer as Hanna and Emily come down the stairs.

"Hey Aria," Hanna says enthusiastically, her tone contradicting the obvious worry in her eyes that mirrors Emily's, and I'm sure my own.

"Hey Hanna, Emily," Aria replies in a monotone, again pushing her untouched breakfast around her plate with a fork. We all exchange worried glances, before Emily takes her turn at trying to coax out Aria.

"Aria, what happened last night?" Emily asks gently. We also see Aria tense up, and by the look in her eyes I know that Emily's words have taken her back to that night.

* * *

_AN: Sorry for the long wait, especially given that it's a bit of a short chapter. I'd originally planned a longer one but I've decided to split it in two. The next chapter, which is in Aria's POV, should be up within a couple of days. I probably should've written this at the top, but yeah. I don't own anything. _


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: I've got exams tomorrow so unfortunately I won't be able to update for the next week or so. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't own Pretty Little Liars. _

* * *

**Chapter 3**

[Aria POV]

I freeze, not knowing what to say. I don't want to talk about what happened last night. I don't even want to think about it, but Emily's words take my unwilling mind back to yesterday afternoon.

_ I was settled on Ezra's couch, waiting as he made us some popcorn for our movie night._

_"What movie should we watch first?" I asked, flicking through a stack of black and white movies._

_"Anything you want," Ezra replied. "I'm not fussed. I'm just glad that I get to spend tonight with you," he says, coming over with the popcorn and placing a kiss on my head. I smiled, happy to be back with Ezra. I turn my body towards his, putting my arms around his neck, pulling him closer._

_"Maybe," I say slowly, "we can skip the movie and move on to more…interesting past times," I say, planting my lips onto his. I can feel him smiling as we kiss._

_"I like the idea of that," he says, pulling me in for a longer, deeper kiss. We were happily reacquainting ourselves with one another when my phone went off. Damn. I really should have turned it off._

_ "Aren't you going to answer that?" Ezra asks._

_"Let's ignore it." I say, about to pull him in again. He stops me._

_"What if it's something important?_

_"I'm sure it's nothing," I say. He relents, if somewhat reluctantly. Looking back, that should have been my second clue that something was wrong. The first was the thick bandage covering his hand. I'd asked him about it, but he just waved me off, saying that he'd burnt himself while trying to teach himself how to cook French vegan food. I should have known something was wrong; the signs were all there. Hindsight really is a bitch._

_Things started to really go wrong not long after my phone had rung. I was just washing up in the bathroom when I came out to see Ezra going through my bag._

_"What are you looking for?" I asked warily. He looked up, an almost manic look in his eye, and truth be told it scared me._

_"Where is she?" His voice wasn't raised, but the tone, it was cold and venomous. A shiver ran up my spine._

_"Where's who? Ezra, who are you looking for? What's going on?"_

_"Where's Alison?" He said, this time much more firmly. "Where is she Aria? I know you've seen her." I was in shock. How did Ezra know about Alison?_

_"Ezra, what are you talking about? Alison's dead. We went to her funeral." Mentally, I cringed at my words. It was still so surreal. Ali wasn't dead. No, she was very much alive. Until we'd seen her at Halloween, I'd never believed it. I'd wanted to, but despite Hanna's adamantly saying she'd seen her at the Lodge, and Spencer not doing much in the way of denying Hanna's claims, I couldn't. Not even Mrs Grunwald's story really convinced me. I mean, I barely knew her; she could've been lying for all I knew. I couldn't stand to think that Alison was alive, only to have it all pulled out under me as my hopes came crashing down. No, that would've been too painful. It was easier to believe she was dead. Then I saw her. She was scared. Brief though out reunion was, that much I could be sure. The look was plain on her face, no matter how much she tried to hide it with her bravado. Ezra had shown up with my phone not long after. Had he seen her?_

_Ezra crosses the room and places his hands roughly on my shoulders. His burnt hand doesn't even seem to bother him at all. I was scared now, bordering on very scared. I didn't get what was going on, nor did I get the crazy look in his eyes as he looked deep into my own._

_"Don't lie to me Aria. I know you've seen her. WHERE IS ALISON?" His voice had risen into a yell now and he emphasised each word by gripping my shoulders tighter and tighter._

_"Ezra, you're scaring me. What's going on?" I whispered, trying but failing to escape his grasp._

_"TELL ME!" There was something in his hand. I hadn't noticed before, but it was my phone. There was a message, which evidently Ezra had opened. It was a photo. My eyes widen as I realise who it is. Alison. _


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Sorry that it's been a while between updates. I would offer an excuse but I don't really have one aside from that I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter and have been messing around with it for a while. Regardless, enjoy. I don't own Pretty Little Liars. _

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_"Ali?"_ _I ask, even though there's no question that it's her. She looks just as scared as she did at Halloween; she's even in that red coat. There's no question that this picture is recent too, she looks older than she did before she went missing, as though whatever she's been doing for the past two years has aged her prematurely. Unsurprisingly, the picture was sent from a blocked number. _

_"Don't pretend that you didn't know she was alive," says Ezra scathingly. His voice is still so cold, his hands maintaining their vice-like grip on my shoulders. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a bruise there tomorrow. "I know you saw her at Halloween. Where is she?"_

_"I don't know," I say softly. He narrows his eyes, obviously not believing me. "I. Don't. Know,"_ _I repeat more firmly. I'm still having trouble comprehending the situation. What is going on? Confusion swirls around in my head as I simultaneously try to reign in the fear that's starting to rise up in me, fear of Ezra. "Why do you even care? How do you even know Alison?" Ezra gives me one more scathing look before finally letting go of my shoulders. He straightens up and begins to walk out of the room, throwing my phone down on the table as he goes. _

_"Aria," he starts, having reached the door and turning back to look at me. I can still hear the anger in his voice, although it sounds suppressed, as if he is trying to force himself to calm down. "I wouldn't tell anyone about this, if I were you. Especially not your friends, if you know what's good for them." With that he exits the room, slamming the door behind him._

_ Ezra's vice-grip and the wall were the only things holding me up before, now I feel as my legs give out and I slide down, hugging me knees and letting all the emotions within me out through the tears that I finally let escape down my face. And really, I can't even register what most of those emotions are; I only recognise the prominence of the confusion and fear. _

_I don't know how much time passed between Ezra leaving and me finally resurfacing from my tears, my thoughts still a jumble as I stare at a spot on the wall next to me. My first clear thought is of my friends. Emily, Hanna, Spencer; I need to tell them what happened. I have to. They deserve to know, but then I can't. Ezra said something bad would happen to them. But then, would he really do something? Would Ezra actually hurt something my friends? No of course not, he wouldn't do anything like that. Would he? What is going on? _

_A sound interprets my incoherent thoughts. It's the sound of the door clicking open. I slowly raise my head, not really knowing who to expect. Is Ezra coming back? Maybe it's the girls, though I don't know why they would be here. They all knew I would be with Ezra tonight and they'd have no reason to suspect anything would happen. I certainly didn't. It all came out of the blue. _

_The door opens and the first thing I see is the red coat. My eyes widen in shock as I take in the form of Alison DiLaurentis before me. _


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Chapter 4 was a little but short, so here's another one. Hope you like it! I don't own PLL. _

**Chapter 5**

_"Oh sweetie," Alison says, as she bends down in front of me and wipes away a few of my tears. _

_"Ali?" I whisper, shock once again coursing through me. _

_She gives me a small smile. "I guess things don't change. Ezra's always had a bit of a temper. I'm surprised he hasn't acted out before now."_

_"You know Ezra?"_

_"Unfortunately," she says, standing up and going over to the table where Ezra had dropped my phone when he stormed out earlier. I see her pick it up and begin clicking away at the keypad._

_"What are you doing?" I ask, unsteadily rising to my feet._

_"Relax sweetie. I'm just telling the others girls to come pick you up."_

_"Ali, what are you doing here?" I ask, making my way towards her. "And how do you know Ezra? Why is he so hell-bent on finding you?"_

_"It's complicated," she replies, now going over to his desk and searching through it._

_"What are you doing?" I ask again. Alison is riffling through all of his papers, going through all of his drawers, and making no attempt at tidying up after herself._

_"Looking for what's mine. Would you mine checking over there for me?" She asks, pointing across the room. "I'm looking for a journal. Mine actually, and I'd prefer having it back."_

_"Why would Ezra have one of your journals? What are you even doing here?"_

_"Oh sweetie, the pieces are all there. I'm actually surprised none of you have put it together yet, especially Spencer. She did manage to cut him, after all. Here it is." She straightens up, holding a journal with her name written across the top._

_I just stare at her as the meanings to her words begin to hit me. "No, it's not possible. You're wrong. It's not him." I shake my head rigorously, all the while seeing all the pieces to this puzzle lining up in my head; the money, his arrival on the train, the typewriter. Not to mention, the entire thing with A only began when Ezra first arrived; I'd always thought it was because A was waiting for me to return from Iceland, but really, he could've just been waiting to get out of Hollis and into Rosewood. Maybe it was both. Either way, everything was fitting together, but then, it wouldn't be the first time. How many times had they accused someone, only for them to be completely wrong? A was the master of shifting blame onto others, what if this was what was happening here? Could she really trust Alison? They may have been best friends, but Ali had led her, led them all on for the past two years, letting them think that she was dead. Not to mention all the secrets and lies they'd found out since her disappearance. It begged the question of who Alison really was to them. _

_"Aria, I know you don't want to believe me but it is him. Ezra is A."_

_"No, you're lying." She had to be, I can't believe that Ezra would do the things that A has done for the past two years. I mean, for God's sakes, A's killed people. Ezra wasn't capable of that. He would never do anything like that. And yet, as much as I try to assure myself of this, something in me resists my attempts of self-reassurance. A seed of doubt that has been planted that I can't seem to get rid of. _

_Alison is staring at me, something akin to pity on her face. "Who do you think I've been running from Aria?" she asks me sadly._

_"He's not A. Mona is, or Cece." _

_I watch as Alison flinches at the mention of Cece. What's going on between them? And why do they both wear red coats? _

_"I know you don't want to believe it's him-" _

_"It's not him," I almost growl. My thoughts contradict my words however. I still don't want to believe that Ezra could be A, but that damned logical side of my brain is putting up some pretty good arguments. Then the logical side of my brain comes up with something even more damning. "It was you. You sent that text." I look at Alison accusingly, and am surprised to see the flicker of guilt on her face._

_"I had to. You had to know what you're getting into-"_

_"Get out Alison."_

_"Aria-"_

_"GET OUT!"_

_She does, if somewhat reluctantly and once again I'm left to wallow in my own tears as another betrayal rips through me. It wasn't long after that the other girls came, but I couldn't bring myself to even look at them, let alone talk. I need to process what the hell just happened. I need to figure out if I truly believe that the love of my life could also be my greatest enemy. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

[Aria POV – present day]

I look up at my friends, their worried faces staring back at me. I can see the questions written all over their faces; they want to know what happened. Of course they would, I mean all they know was that I was going to be at Ezra's, but then an SOS message, me not replying to their texts and calls, finding the trashed apartment and me huddled on the ground in tears? Yeah, I would want answers too. But could I tell them? I mean, I want to, I owe them the truth, but if Ezra really is A, would he follow through on his threat and punish them for my loose lips? Could I really risk it, risk them?

Ezra…Dammit, why did all this have to be so complicated? Our relationship was complex enough as it is, and now this? I've replayed yesterday over and over, and I still don't know what to believe. I don't want to think that he is A, but the evidence is damning. Then again, that seemed to be the case with every other person we'd accused before, and I don't know if I want to risk it with Ezra. If he really wasn't A, and I accused him then I could kiss our relationship goodbye, but if he was…I don't know what would be more painful, knowing that I've hurt and betrayed him with false accusations or being the one hurt knowing all this time he's been lying to and torturing me and everyone I care about.

"Aria," Spencer whispers my name quietly, but it's enough to break me out of my thoughts. She leans down to look me in the eye, but I look away. I can't stand the worried look on her face, or Hanna or Emily's for that matter. It's enough to almost send me into a round of tears, but I'm holding on to them for now, just barely. Looking into their eyes and seeing their concern is too much considering that I may be sitting on the proverbial A bomb and that it may just be the love of my life.

"I don't want to talk about it," I say, somehow managing to keep that quiver out of my voice, although in doing so making my words sound a lot harsher than I intended. Out of my periphery, I see them all flinch. I don't think any of them have ever heard me speak this way, I'm not usually one to lose my temper and especially not at them.

"Aria, we know about Ezra," Hanna says gently. That gets my attention. I whip my head around and look at my friends for the first time since this whole mess started.

"Wh-what?" I manage to squeak out.

"Ezra is A, isn't he? That's what happened last night." Hanna's words come out as a statement, not a question. I can tell by her tone, and Spencer and Emily's lack of surprise, that they know, all of them know. How? Was it really that obvious? Or had they known beforehand and not told me?

I look away again as I start to get up. I can see that they're going to try and stop me so I bolt, running out the door before anyone can stop me, muttering "I need to go," as I rush past them.

"Aria," I hear them call after me, but I don't look back. They don't need to see my tears again.

* * *

_AN: There's going to be some proper Sparia interaction next chapter, which should be up in a few days, a week tops. This was more of a filler chapter but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. Feel free to leave a review :)_


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